Astronauts Stuck in Orbit for Nine Months Leave Iss for Earth

Handout photo dated on March 17, 2025, shows NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. From left, are NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wimore. ISS on March 17, 2025. After nine months stranded aboard the ISS, American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will finally be returning to Earth. Their mission, initially scheduled for eight days, has been extended due to technical problems on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Accompanied by another American and a Russian cosmonaut, they left the station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which detached from the ISS early on March 18. Their return is scheduled for the evening off Florida, where their capsule will be slowed by parachutes before being recovered. Eager to be reunited with their loved ones, the astronauts have kept their sense of humor, with Suni Williams even throwing out t